Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB – Get Free Report) and NSTS Bancorp (NASDAQ:NSTS – Get Free Report) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends and risk.
Risk and Volatility
Metropolitan Bank has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, NSTS Bancorp has a beta of 0.22, suggesting that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
79.8% of Metropolitan Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 23.7% of NSTS Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Metropolitan Bank shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of NSTS Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Metropolitan Bank | $527.15 million | 2.15 | $71.10 million | $7.90 | 11.56 |
| NSTS Bancorp | $9.81 million | 7.41 | -$390,000.00 | ($0.02) | -690.25 |
Metropolitan Bank has higher revenue and earnings than NSTS Bancorp. NSTS Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Metropolitan Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Metropolitan Bank and NSTS Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Metropolitan Bank | 14.31% | 10.72% | 1.03% |
| NSTS Bancorp | -0.72% | -0.12% | -0.04% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Metropolitan Bank and NSTS Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Metropolitan Bank | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.00 |
| NSTS Bancorp | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Metropolitan Bank currently has a consensus price target of $103.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.36%. Given Metropolitan Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Metropolitan Bank is more favorable than NSTS Bancorp.
Summary
Metropolitan Bank beats NSTS Bancorp on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Metropolitan Bank
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area. The company offers checking, savings, term deposit, money market, demand deposit, and other interest-bearing transaction accounts. It also provides lending products, including commercial real estate, multi-family, construction, and one-to four-family real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans; acquisition and renovation loans; loans to refinance or return borrower equity; loans on owner-occupied properties; working capital lines of credit; trade finance and letters of credit; and term loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services, as well as online and mobile banking, ACH, remote deposit capture, and debit cards. The company was formerly known as Metbank Holding Corp. and changed its name to Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in January 2007. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
About NSTS Bancorp
NSTS Bancorp, Inc. operates as a savings and loan holding company for North Shore Trust and Savings that provides banking products and services in Illinois. The company offers interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing checking, money market, savings, and time deposit accounts; and one- to four-family residential mortgage, multi-family and commercial real estate mortgage, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It operates through full-service banking offices in Lake County, Illinois; and one loan production office in Chicago. The company was founded in 1921 and is headquartered in Waukegan, Illinois.
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